BY BAYERN PRESIDENT HOENESS

dominant club in the 1970s, before rising through the boardroom to become president.

But he was forced to resign in 2014 when he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of evading almost £25million in tax.

Hoeness (right) served 18 months behind bars and was re-elected club president in November 2016 with 97 per cent of the vote, in a poll in which he was the only candidate.

Bayern have been fierce critics of the way the Abu Dhabi United Group have built City into one of Europe’s top teams since taking over the club in 2008. The Bavarians helped to frame the Financial Fair Play Regulations that City failed to meet five years ago.

And when it became apparent that Guardiola was wanted by The Etihad outfit during his time at Bayern, club chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “I can’t imagine that Pep will join a club like Manchester City.”

City are under investigation from FIFA, UEFA, the FA and Premier League after German magazine Der Spiegel claimed they were still flouting FFP and are also guilty of breaking rules on Third Party Ownership and payments to underage players.

There was shock in The Etihad boardroom when Hoeness’ claims were published.

The initial reaction was that the Bayern president was joking and that the humour had been lost in translation. But now City are demanding a retraction and an apology.